Richard Haines, Pharrell Yellow
As the fashionable men of Brooklyn walk about—in health-goth gear, preppy suits or paint-smeared kicks—Richard Haines is there watching, quickly capturing their essences in sketches that end up on his beloved blog, What I Saw Today. His career has come full circle: He first moved to the city to pursue illustration, ended up designing clothes and now illustrates for clients such as Prada, Calvin Klein and J.Crew. His first solo exhibit since 2011, “A Room of One’s Own,” showcases drawings (sketched on the street, at fashionable gatherings or from quickly snapped photos) from both his “Today’s Mood” and “Boys of Bushwick” series, plus a fully customized interior he created using the trompe l’oeil technique.
The six-year Bushwick resident chooses his subjects (more often men than women) from a “gut level.” “I lived in Manhattan for such a long time, and moving here made me fall in love with the city again,” says Haines. “There’s a style that’s un-self-conscious but actually thought through: a little art boy, a little bad boy, a little rough.” Check out some of the amazing pieces from the exhibit, open September 10 through October 24 (just in time for Fashion Week) at the Daniel Cooney Fine Art Gallery.
